Friday, July 30, 2010

Pinched nerve in the neck causing shooting stabbing arm pain-NYCPinched nerve treatment nycI wanted to post a brief discussion about a “pinched nerves” and “slipped discs”.The last several weeks I have seen an influx of patients that can hardly move their neck comfortably in any range of motion and describe their arm pain as stabbing and or shooting.If the symptoms are in the left arm the patient is concerned that it could be a sign of a heart condition and usually get it checked out by their medical doctor, once it is confirmed that it is not the heart almost always it points to a cervical disc (neck)involvement.What that means is the disc in the neck is misplaced and can causes pressure or irritation to the very delicate nerves that innervate the hand and arms.Hence the term” slipped discs”. So the disc themselves don’t necessarily slip they can and do move out of their normal position and the proper medical terminology for a “slipped disc” is either a bulging or herniated disc. To better understand the disc I wanted to go a bit into the disc biomechanics.Cervical Herniated disc treatment discussionIn people between the ages of 30 and 40 years, their nucleus has a water content of 80% which decreases with age. The average person is 1% shorter in height at the end of the day than on first arising in the morning. This difference is attributed to decreasing water content in the disc, which occurs with advancing age.

The nucleus pulposus, which occupies about half the disc surface area, bears the vertical load, whereas the annulus or outer bands bear the tangential load.Two terms are used to describe disc degenerative change allowing nuclear herniation. “contained disc” and “noncontained disc” They refer to the state of the annulus fibrosus, that is whether it is intact and restraining the nucleus pulposus ( a contained disc) or whether it has completely radially torn to allow the nuclear material to sequester or free-fragment into the vertebral canal.

Once you start to understand the anatomy of the region it starts to really make sense that the most effective way to not only reduce the pain but correct the problem is to Unload or decompress the area.

In our NYC Physical therapy clinic we utilize a multi pronged approach.Our first treatment involves the Cox cervical flexion distraction technique.This is a very gentle movement that allows the doctor to guide the patient’s neck into freeing restricted movement and reducing pressure on discs and spinal nerves. We also use cervical spinal decompression to reduce intradiscal pressure and help to return disc material back. Cervical spinal decompression is fantastic for patients suffering with cervical herniated disc and arm pain.The Graston technique is tremendously effective in dealing with “soft tissue” fascia and tight muscles that usually accompany a cervical disc herniation. Putting together the most effective non-surgical methods to deal with pinched nerves and herniated discs allows us to get our NYC patients back to doing the things enjoy without pain.Give us a call today if you are suffering with a pinched nerve or have a slipped disc in NYC @ (212)645-8151